Rail-joint.



PATENTED JUNE l2, 1906.

l`No. 823,180'.

I L. B. LLEGH.-

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.14,1906.

UNITED `STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUCIAN B. LEEcH, or SMITHEIELD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASsiGNoE or ONE- HALE To ERNEST MALoNE, or SMITHEIELD, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1906.

T0 MZ whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, LUCIAN B. LEECH, a citizen of the United' States, residing at Smithfield, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention involves improvements in means for joining the meeting ends of rails and aims to do away with the necessity for use of nuts and bolts or similar fastenings in securing the rails in place, obviating the necessity for drilling openings in the ends of the rails, to admit of expansion and contraction of the rails when in operative position, and secure various other advantages incident to the special construction of the joint device.

For, a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railjoint embodying the invention as applied. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of one of the chair-plates.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the rails. Said rails have the basal portions thereof cut away at the extremities and at opposite Sides, as shown at 2. The joint means provided comprises a bed-plate 3,

adapted to be disposed upon one of the cross-v ties of the track and to receive the end portions of adjacent rails thereon. The rails are prevented from displacement from the bedplate by means of chair-plates 4, said plates being formed with vertical wings 5, which abut with the sides of the rails at the end portions thereof. The wings 5 are connected with the plates 4 by means of angular flanges 6, said anges 6 receiving the cut-away basal portions 2 of the rails and operating in the space formed by said cut-away portions. The bed-plate 3 is provided with a series of openings near each of its ends, said chairplate having openings to register with those at the adjacent end portion of the bed-plate. Suitable fastenings in the form of spikes 7 or the like are used to connect the chair-plates with the bed-plate, being driven through the respective openings aforesaid, the heads of the spikes rmly attaching the chair-plates to the bed-plates and holding the chair-plates against the opposite sides of the rails. The cut-away portions 2 at the ends of the rails form spaces slightly greater in length than the length of the flanges 6, and this 'permits of a certain amount of contraction and expansion of the rails when the latter are held in place by the means comprising this invention. The openings in the chair-plates 4 are not so large as those in the bed-plate 3, so that as the fastenings 7 are driven into the tie the plates 4 will be forced toward opposite sides of the rails by a sort of wedging action. The rails will of course also be held in position by means of spikes at intervals in the length thereof, as customary.

yThe joint means hereinbefore described is very simple and greatly cheapens the cost of and the maintenance of the road construction, with resultant advantages. It will be seen that a piece of cushioning material may be disposed upon the bed-plates 3 beneath the rail ends to reduce the noise and vibration in a manner which will be evident.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. In a rail-joint, the combination of the meeting ends of rails, the basal portions of which are cut away a short distance from the extremities, a bed-plate beneath the rail ends, chair-plates at opposite sides of the rails and comprising vertical wings adapted to abut with said rails upon opposite Sides, and fastenings passing through the chairplates and the bed-plate to hold the same in position.

2. In a rail-joint, the combination of the meeting ends of rails, the basal portions of which are cut away a short distance from the extremities, a bed-plate beneath the rail ends, chair-plates at opposite sides of the rails and comprising vertical wings adapted to abut with said rails upon opposite sides, the vertical wings of the chair-plates being IOO connected With the body portions thereof by l together and in position upon a supportingmeans of angular flanges arranged in the tie. 1o spaces formed by the out-aWay basal portions In testimony whereof I aflix my Signature of the rails, said flanges being shorter than in presence of two Witnesses.

the space in Which they are disposed to per- LUCIAN B. LEECH. [L. s.] mit of contraction and expansion ofthe rails, Witnesses: and fastenings passing through the ohair- CHARLES T. CRAMER,

plates and the bed-plate to secure the same M. L. THOMPSON. 

